Yzma
Yzma is the villainess of The Emperor's New Groove. Originally the advisor to Emperor Kuzco, she constantly plots to steal the throne from Kuzco and rule the Empire herself. This devious diva was a gamine beauty...a long time ago. She has an ultra-long neck, very bony hips and shoulders, and extremely long arms, all of which were probably willowy and lovely...last century. She is skilled in mixing potions, which she concocts and keeps in her Secret Lab (which everyone knows about, contrary to its name). She seems to specialise in transformation potions. With her emaciated body, bald head and sallow skin, Yzma is not in the prime of her life, and may be using her potions to live well beyond her years. Her attempts to rule the Empire are invariably foiled, sometimes by her own mistakes, but more frequently by the mistakes and conflicting emotions of her dim but kind-hearted henchman, Kronk. She seems eternally frustrated that nothing in the world around her makes sense or, more importantly, goes her way. Along with Captain Hook, Hades, The Queen of Hearts and Prince John, Yzma is considered one of Disney's funniest villains. She ranked #14 in the top 30 disney villains (One better than the Queen of Hearts but one under Chernabog.) = Film and Television Appearances = Yzma's Scheme Introduced as Emperor Kuzco's advisor, Yzma is first seen in the film sitting on Kuzco's throne and making decisions for him behind his back. Kuzco sees her doing this and, without a thought, fires her. She vents her rage by smashing busts of Kuzco, but a careless comment by her right-hand man Kronk gives her the idea to kill Kuzco; as there is no heir to the throne, Yzma would automatically take over the position. She and Kronk, via roller-coaster, go to the Secret Lab, where Yzma decides to poison Kuzco (even though she originally planned to turn him into a flea, mail him to herself inside multiple boxes and then smash it with a hammer upon arrival, but changes ideas when realizing it would be a waste of postage). She organises to have dinner with Kuzco that evening. Though Kronk is more interested in cooking dinner than carrying out Yzma's orders, he tells her that the poison is ready. Kronk poisons Kuzco's drink, but forgets whose drink is whose, so mixes all three drinks together, and he and Yzma descreetly throw away their drinks as Kuzco downs his. However, Kronk mixed up Yzma's potions, accidentally turning Kuzco into a llama rather than killing him. Yzma orders him to knock out Kuzco, take him out of town and finish the job. Taking the llama's unconscious body to the edge of the Imperial City, Kronk has a change of heart at the last minute, and accidentally drops Kuzco onto Pacha's cart, just as Pacha is leaving the city. Searching For Kuzco Yzma and Kronk As everyone, including Yzma, believes Kuzco to be dead, Yzma is made empress and redecorates the palace. When Kronk lets slip that Kuzco is not dead, the two of them set off to find and kill him, Kronk carrying Yzma on his bck in a specially built miniature tent. They search the villges surrounding the palace, with no success, and Yzma loses her temper when they reach the jungle. However, Kronk uses his "Junior Chipmunk" skills to ask a squirrel where the talking Llama went. Yzma and Kronk eventually reach Mudka's Meat Hut, a diner where Pacha and Kuzco have coincidentally stopped for lunch. Pacha notices Yzma and, realising her intentions, tries to get Kuzco out of the diner. Disappointment on both Kuzco's and Yzma's part result in both going to the kitchen to request special orders, but they narrowly avoid seeing each other. Ultimately Pacha distracts Yzma by telling the diner staff that it is her birthday, and he takes Kuzco out just as Yzma is receiving her birthday greetings. When Pacha tells Kuzco that Yzma plans to kill him, Kuzco denies it and falls out with him, believing Pacha's claim to be a ploy to save his village from destruction. When Kuzco realises Yzma's intentions, he searches frantically for Pacha but cannot find him. He resigns himself to the fate of an ordinary llama. That night, Kronk suddenly remembers Pacha's face and links him to Kuzco. Meanwhile, Kuzco finds and makes up with Pacha, and the two make their way to Pacha's house. They find that Yzma and Kronk are there, searching for Kuzco and claiming that they are distant relatives of Pacha. Pacha's family keep Yzma and Kronk at bay, first by locking them in the closet, then by turning Yzma into a piniata; this gives Kuzco and Pacha a head start, but Yzma sees them disappearing over the horizon and a frantic chase ensues, such that Yzma and Kuzco are almost within eyeshot. Pacha and Kuzco use a rope to cross a gorge, and cut it in an attempt to day Yzma and Kronk, but Yzma's transport tent sprouts wings and she and Kronk egin to sail over the gorge. They are struck by cartoon-logic lightning and fall before reaching the other side. The Final Battle When Kuzco and Pacha reach the palace (to find an antidote to the llama potion in the Secret Lab), they find that, much to the surprise of all present, Yzma and Kronk are waiting for them. Yzma orders Kronk to kill Kuzco and Pacha, but her henchman once again has a change of heart, and attempts to crush Yzma with a chandelier. Her rail-thin body narrowly misses being crushed, and she sends Kronk down a trapdoor. She knocks over the potions cabinet, so that Pacha and Kuzco can not tell which is the antidote, and calls the palace guards to kill the peasant and the talking llama. Pacha throws potions onto the guards, turning them into various animals; after the guard who has turned into a cow is excused, the chase continues, as Kuzco tries every potion, transforming into various creatures before transforming back into a llama. They outwit the guards, but Yzma continues to persue them until the three reach the palace roof, and only two potions remain for Kuzco to try. Yzma snatches one of them, but it is the wrong potion, and she transforms into a cat. She attacks Pacha, causing him to fall and distract Kuzco, and snatches the final potion from him, declaring that she will turn herself back into a human and kill him. She finds that she cannot open the vial, and her frustration causes her to fall from the roof; while Kuzco is saving Pacha, the vial also falls. Both Yzma and the vial return to the roof however, with the help of a giant trampoline. Yzma reaches the vial before Kuzco and Pacha, and seems to have won until she is knocked out by Kronk, who has just emerged from the other end of the trapdoor. Kuzco uses the vial to change back into a human and Yzma, now a cat, is sentenced to the torture of being taught squirrel language by Kronk, as a Junior Chipmunk. Kronk's New Groove In the sequel to The Emperor's New Groove, Yzma has, through means unrevealed, managed to change herself back into a human - except that she still has the cat tail. Here, she recruits Kronk - now a cook and delivery boy for Mudka's Meat Hut - to help her sell her Youth Potion (a.k.a. sewer slime) 'Yzma's Young and Beautiful' to the residents of an old perople's home because they'll trust him. After the residents sold the home and their clothes to buy more youth potion, Kronk realised that the potion was inefective, and told the residents, who were on the verge of electing Yzma for Emperor. Instead, they chased her all through the town and cornered her on a bridge over a river filled with crocodiles. To escape the angry residents, Yzma used her final potion to transform herself into a small rabbit, who was too cute for the residents to want to hurt. Yzma thought she was safe - until a bird of prey swooped down and grabbed her. Towards the end of the film, Yzma is seen in the bird's nest as the eggs hatch into very vicious-lookign chicks. Yzma is presumably eaten. = Behind the Scenes = Yzma was voiced by Eartha Kitt and animated by Dale Baer. Design and Animation Shades of purple in The Emperor's New Groove are almost excusively reserved for Yzma and her world (her Secret Lab, and the Palace when she is briefly Empress). These colours were chosen because they are generally considered the colours of madness. Yzma's angular shape is intended to suggest her evil nature; early designs depick an even more jagged, pointed figure. Yzma's design is also inspired by that of Cruella De Vil, who boasts similarly angular hips and shoulders. Dale Baer commented that Eartha Kitt's actions when voicing Yzma inspired many of the character's physical mannerisms. Yzma was also based on singer Yma Sumac, the "Inca princess of Hollywood"; Sumac may have inspired Yzma's extravagant and varied wardrobe. Abandoned Concepts Kingdom of the Sun Originally, The Emperor's new Groove was Kingdom of the Sun, a film of a more serious nature, similar in scale to The Lion King. Yzma was still voiced by Eartha Kitt, but at this point was animated by Andreas Deja. Her role in Kingdom of the Sun was similar in some ways; she was still the villainess, and was a member of the royal court, but was a sorceress (rather than a mad scientist). Kingdom of the Sun's story was similar to that of Mark Twain's The Prince and the Pauper: the Emperor (here called Manco) switched places with Pacha (at this point voiced by Owen Wilson) who, in this version, was physically identical to Manco. Once famed for her beauty, the very old Yzma blamed her now hideous appearance on the sun, and planned to plunge the kingdom into eternal darkness (illustrated in the song Snuff Out the Light), involving Pacha in her plan through blackmail (as she witnesses the 'switch' of Manco and Pacha). Kronk was not in the story; instead, Yzma's sidekick was a talking talisman named Hucua (voiced by Harvey Fierstein and animated by Nik Ranieri). The climax involved Yzma summoning Supai, a dark force, to engulf the kingdom; but being killed by the sun itself, which Pacha lassoes and pulls down to Earth. When Kingdom of the Sun eventually became The Emperor's New Groove, Yzma became a more comical character, and her motivation changed from vanity to lust for power. Reputedly, animator Andreas Deja was furious at this change, thinking the idea for the new version of the film to be a step backward, and left not only the project but Burbank entirely, moving to Florida to animate Lilo for Lilo and Stitch; Dale Baer took over animation duties for Yzma. Unused Songs Aside from Snuff out the Light, Eartha Kitt also sang a reprise of opening number Perfect World; this would have been performed by Yzma when she became Empress, and was intended to show that she had not only stolen Kuzco's Empire and Palace, but also his theme song. Perfect World (Yzma's Reprise) was ultimately cut from the film as it was believed to slow down the story. 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